Analysing customer data — whose job is it, anyway?

What good is collecting customer data without analysis and, based on that analysis, action?

None at all, not if you’re asking us.

And yet nearly two-thirds (64%) of marketers say that while it’s their responsibility to gather customer data in their day-to-day roles, they shouldn’t actually have any responsibility for its analysis.

Over half of them feel they spend too much time analysing data in their day-to-day role, and have too little time for more creative aspects of their work.

These results come from a recent report (“Data Deadlock”) and are based on a February 2017 survey by independent research house Censuswide. Over 600 US and UK marketers and consumers (over 2,100) were polled in the study, which was commissioned by international marketing automation company BlueVenn.

The report found that marketers are struggling with the sheer volume of data they collect, with 57% of those surveyed still not using the data to form accurate views of their customers.

Based on February 2017 survey responses by 602 B2C marketers in the UK and US (300 UK and 302 US).

While 90% of marketers claim to understand the data their company collects, they agree that without the right skills, effective data analysis is impossible. And 60% still think that their company doesn’t invest enough in the right platforms and tools to successfully manage and analyse customer data.

Why should you care?

Here, as in the US and UK, when you’re collecting customer data, its only value is the use that you make of it.

But while marketers generally may feel confident in their abilities to analyse data manually, analysis can be too time consuming. In such circumstances, analysis is done at the expense of other important campaign work, or not done at all.

The answer? Clearly, BlueVenn commissioned the survey because the company believes its analytics, campaign management and reporting solutions can help. But whatever the technology you use, it’s only truly effective if you’re able to pair the right tools with the necessary expertise.

And there’s the rub. The Data Deadlock study also makes the salient point that, although marketers are confident in their ability to analyse customer data, most consumers (58%) who responded to the survey said they are not being targeted effectively.

Have you got your head around everything you could be doing to ensure growth and maximise your digital budget?